A green spider hangs around on a Pine Lily. Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News

Richard Burkhart

The inside of a large hollow Cypress tree. Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News

Richard Burkhart

Saw marks, that are possibly over a hundred years old, are vissible in one of the ancient Cypress trees in the Murf Tract flood plains. Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News

THIS GIANT CYPRESS inspires awe from the first sight of its massive trunk, more than 43 feet around. But it's when you squeeze through a narrow opening at the base and step inside that trunk - and four other adults join you with room to spare - that you really appreciate this tree.

"This is prehistoric," said James Holland, the recently retired Altamaha Riverkeeper who's leading the tour. "No ifs, ands or buts about it."

Sunlight peaks in from the tree's chimney. A tiny Rafinesque's big-eared bat swoops overhead and perches just below a window-like opening, twitching nervously.

This tree is something.

And it's not even the biggest cypress in the stand in McIntosh County.

That honor belongs to another ancient nearby. State biologists measured its trunk circumference at 44 feet, 5 inches at breast height. That makes it larger than the official state champion cypress, though it hasn't been registered yet.

It could well be true. Cypress are hard to age because they grow hollow, but Matt Elliott of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources estimates the big trees in this tract are at least 700 years old.

Even their knees are enormous, easily topping 15 feet.

"Look at the height of these cypress knees," Holland said, pointing to what looked like a smooth, wooden torpedo planted upright in the wet ground. "It breathes for the trees when this area is flooded."

Vicki Klahn knows that's true. There's plenty of water around to remind her, including a nearly chest-deep stream she just waded through. Klahn teaches science at Glynn Middle School in Brunswick, and Holland is an inspiration.

"He's a bulldog," she said. "I like how he comes out here and looks for problems but appreciates the beauty, too."

Holland first discovered this stand of massive cypress trees in McIntosh County's Altamaha River floodplain three or four years ago while fishing. The water was high and he boated through. He knew the stand was unusual because cypress is valuable wood that was logged extensively in the 1800s.

Cleanly sawed off cypress stumps give evidence that loggers came through this tract, too, but Holland figures these trees were spared because they were already hollow a century ago and therefore not as valuable as timber.

"This is not just a place with one or two big cypress," Holland said. "They're there out as far as I can take it. In this 7,000 acres there's probably the most large cypress of any swamp I've ever encountered."

The bottomland forest also holds massive Ogeechee limes, a tree of the tupelo family whose trunk looks like multiple trees in a huddle, and giant gum trees.

It sits on land purchased by Georgia last year from Rayonier Forest Resources and added to the Townsend Wildlife Management Area. As such, it's protected.

But Holland has some concerns about a proposal from the nearby Townsend Bombing Range, a Marine Corps facility, to double in size. He worries the public could lose access if the bombing range gets too close.

DNR spokeswoman Lauren Curry said her agency is monitoring the plans.

In the meantime, Holland has made it his mission to show these old giants to as many people as he can.

"I want to bring people up so they can help protect this area," he said. "People like Vicki, a biologist. I don't want nobody messing this area up. I want it for the people."

Hike to see Georgia's Largest Cypress

The Altamaha Riverkeeper is hosting a two- to three-hour hike to the big cypress trees on Sept. 10. E-mail stewards@altamahariverkeeper.org or call us at 912-437-8164 to reserve a spot exploring the prehistoric swamp in the Townsend Wildlife Management Area with former Altamaha Riverkeeper James Holland as the guide. Wear shoes and clothes suitable for wading through water and mud. The area is shaded but humid so bring a large bottle of water. There are some great opportunities for photos of the state's largest cypress and tupelo trees on record.Contribution for members is $50 per person, $80 for non-members. Space is limited.